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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “sticky note”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “sticky note”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 2 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Sticky Banner shows at wp.org #3 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Max Mega Menu places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 882 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Sticky Notes for WP Dashboard 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #1 2 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #7 ↑2 5 too low 3 All-in-One Sticky Anything – Click to Call, Fixed Widget, Sticky Header, Menu & Sidebar 1K+ · 4.9★ (15) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too low 5 Buttonizer – Floating Menus, Sticky Buttons, & Popup Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (151) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #12 ↑2 6 too low 7 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #13 ↑3 6 too low 8 Announcer – Sticky Message Banner & Notification Bar 10K+ · 4.8★ (40) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 KeepInMind Dashboard Notes 300+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #5 4 too high 10 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #21 ↑2 11 too low 11 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too low 12 Custom Fonts – Host Your Fonts Locally 400K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 Easy Table of Contents 600K+ · 4.4★ (221) wp.org #14 ↓2 15 OpenStation – Admin Dashboard Notes, Custom Dashboard, AI Assistant & PWA 1K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #9 ↓1 6 too high 16 Ivory Search – WordPress Search Plugin 90K+ · 4.9★ (1562) wp.org #24 ↓3 8 too low 17 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 Sticky Banner 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 16 too high 20 SureFeedback Client Site 5K+ · 4.0★ (39) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too high 21 Superb Addons: Blocks, Patterns, Pre-built Pages, Sliders, Popups, Free Forms, Animations & More 80K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Customer Notes for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 11 too high 23 Extended CRM for Users Insights 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 Simple Sticky Note – Frontend Notes 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓2 9 too high

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.